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Our Army, Alan Cutner's profile, and Dave Handley's Arse

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Everyone else had started to believe Mick and I had a carefully constructed strategy for the Doubles - miss the first round in Nottingham, which because of the Swiss System employed meant we end up playing someone half-way down the table in the first game of each subsequent round - but on the flip side, we would not be able to drop any of our scores, as the best 4 rounds count only - so one slip-up and we would be toast.

In reality we weren't that clever - the reason for missing Nottingham each year was a combination of a traditionally great night out in Cardiff (coinciding with the competition in Usk the weekend before Nottingham), with the need to not get thrown permanently out of our house by a girlfriend who might (quite reasonably) consider 2 consecutive weekends away "playing soldiers" in January a touch excessive! 

So, somewhat bizarrely we appeared to be in the frame to win the lot with one round to go. using Khmer, we set off, and after the traditional Clacketts Lane Breakfast, Reigate was upon us. What happened...? Read on..........

Game 1 - vs Martin Naylor & Richard Foxon - Middle Assyrian

No ally-generals, loads of knights, loads of supported auxilia - it could be good, it could be bad for us as we lined up against what transpired to be a fairly small Assyrian Army. We lined up across the table, with our main strike commands in the center, the smaller command in an area of  woods and hills on the right, and with the Assyrians starting out from the wood going left. Our weakest command (Command 3) was on the right (we were 1,4,3,2 left-to-right).

The Assyrians started out by sending a force wide and to their right, hoping to get knights into the soft flanks of our line, where the elephants petered out - it also had kallipani, who could threaten our elephants. Over to our right, a lone light horseman snuck round the wood to delay our advance - and was promptly mugged by a lone ambushing Auxilia - the first combat of the day!

Over on our left things started to look good, as the battle line swung around to put pressure on the little group of flankers - the El (X) was pinging away bolts, and causing the Kallipani great pains - but no casualties...

The action shifted now towards the center stage, and the classic gamble, of "El/Ax/Bd Combo" vs "Supported Ax" was about to be played out again (having learnt this trick at the Worlds in 1999 against Dave "a picture of his arse" Handley). This time we appeared to have things set up to our advantage, with the Burmese and their blades in the center, however it was a Mexican stand-off on the right where chariot Knights faced a mixed El & double-depth Ax/Ps line, and to the left we were at risk of getting dangerously over extended, as the CinC attempted to cover about half the table.

We charged in first, making dents, but not managing to overwhelm the large CinC's command before the Assyrians shored up their right, and then counter-struck with a Chariot charge into our right wing. The lone horseman had also managed to flee from the Ax ambushing him from the wood, and after feinting at the baggage had started to make a bee-line for the back of our line

"Chop Chop Chop" went the Blades. 

"Poo Poo Poo" went our Auxilia supporting their right flank as the Chariots bore down on them

"Bugger Bugger Bugger" went Mick's command as it failed to make inroads against the beleaguered Assyrians squashed in the corner.

"Back in the Tin, back in the Tin, back in the Tin" went the Assyrian auxilia in the center of the board, and with them the CinC's command.

"Bigger Bugger, Bigger Bugger, Bigger Bugger" went Mick's command as the Assyrian kallipani charged into the Elephant (X) and killed it, leaving a horrible hole very near to our CinC's flanks

"Last Bound" went , erm, probably Paul Robinson actually, as lunchtime came around - 

"phew - a 7-3 win" said Tim & Mick to each other - "It could have been better - but it could have easily been much much worse." 

Continued on the next page.....

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"Oi1 You

Trying to go round our flank?

I say NO!

"we have you now my friends...."

I get technical with Microsoft Image  Composer, as my army gets technical with the Assyrian center

A Flash of lighting and a roll of thunder light up the battlefield  - well, a flash of my camera, and the roll of dice light up the Games Workshop Hot Salty Desert playmat actually....